A/N: There's a method to my madness. Thanks for the wonderful feedback.

Nineteen

"Tell me again why we can't do this for a living?" Patrick mumbled from his sun chaise. They were lying under umbrellas next to the pool, bottles of beer, water and sunscreen sitting on the table between them. The sun was just beginning to set, but neither seemed intent on moving.

"It doesn't pay well?" Robin answered, flexing her toes back and forth.

"I have a trust fund." Patrick picked up his beer and took a sip without sitting up or spilling any. It was a trick he'd worked hard to perfect over the past couple of days.

"You do?" Robin pulled off her sunglasses and rolled over to look at her boyfriend. Her expression intimating she was actually considering the life of luxury.

"Two actually. One from the Drake family and one from my mother's family. Tempted?" Patrick grinned.

"Your mother's family was rich too?"

"My parents' marriage was the fondest wish of both my parents' family since they were infants. They had avoided each other like the plague for years because of it and then ran into each other at some society event and eloped a few weeks later."

"That's amazing. And romantic." Robin sighed and took a sip of water. "What do you want to do for dinner tonight?"

At that Patrick pushed his sunglasses down so he could turn his head and properly leer at his scantily clad girlfriend. Today, she had pulled out a slick, yellow maillot that showed off her compact curves to perfection. After she had put it on back in their room this morning she'd had to put it on again because he had taken his time pulling it off her with his teeth.

Robin rolled her eyes and blushed at the same time. "Dinner? Eating?" she prompted.

Patrick's leer only widened.

"Gah! I'm going to go up to the room to shower. You can sit here and, and do whatever it is you're doing." Robin sat up and shoved her book into her beach bag. "Stop it!" she shrieked when he only continued to leer at her. She could no longer tell if she was hot from the slight sunburn she'd gotten today or from embarrassment.

Patrick licked his lips and sat up. "I'll meet you in the shower." His voice was husky. Robin's blush deepened. She huffed and stood up and stomped away.

Patrick watched her go. Still leering.

Robin sat on the bed in a towel, the shower running in the other room. She had been about to get under the spray when her cell phone rang with the hospital's number on the caller id. Thankfully, it was only Epiphany returning the message she had left for her that morning. Patrick had refused to check in on Noah, so Robin was doing it for him. Unfortunately, Epiphany was not calling with good news. Robin clicked off the phone and looked down at the ground trying to figure out how she was going to tell Patrick.

"What did she say?"

Robin looked up in surprise. She hadn't heard Patrick return to the room. "Tell me," Patrick insisted when she hesitated.

Robin put her cell phone down on the bedside table and looked at Patrick, her expression troubled. "She said that your father hasn't shown up for work for the past two days." Robin walked over to him. He spun around and walked out of her reach. He pretended to be concentrating on putting his book and towel down on the couch, but really he couldn't bear to be touched just then.

"Why do you look so stricken? This is what he does. I should have known better. I never should have." Patrick put his hands on his hips and looked down at his feet, failing miserably at coming off as uncaring.

"What? Saved his life? Repaired your relationship? Patrick, you don't really think that."

"He obviously doesn't think either is worth saving, why the hell should I?" Patrick turned his head and glared unseeingly towards the setting sun visible through the sliding glass doors.

"It's a disease, Patrick. It's not a valuation on his life or his love for you. We should go back and see if we can help him." Robin kept her voice level and calm.

"No. He's ruined enough of my life. I won't let him take this from you." He turned around and visibly pushed his anger away and his face broke into a happy-go-lucky smile, the smile of the playboy who didn't want to connect with anyone so he didn't get hurt. She knew he was hearing what she was saying and that he would come to what needed to be done in his own time. She would just have to wait and be ready to support him when he was ready. "Now, how about that shower?" He reached out and opened her towel and let is drop to the floor.

"Patrick," she whispered as he put his hands on her.

"Where are you going?" Patrick's bellow followed Robin out of the bathroom.

Once again she was wrapped only in a towel, this time she was wet having gotten to take her shower and engage in some pretty strenuous and enjoyable water sports with her boyfriend who was finishing up the rest of the shower alone.

"I'm a prune!" Robin laughed as she picked up her cell phone and then walked back over to the bathroom door. "I'm going to order room service."

"Spoilsport!" Patrick yelled out.

"Whiner!" Robin teased back before she slowly closed the bathroom door. Once the door was closed her smile disappeared and she looked at her phone. She knew what she was about to do was definitely in the meddling category and might piss Patrick off, but she couldn't just sit back and do nothing when she knew that Noah was in trouble. She cared about both Drake men too much.

And maybe this wasn't the best idea, but it was the best she could do from a distance. She pressed a button on her phone and put it to her ear.

"Dad? I need for you to do me a favor."